I had slowly been moving up with my knife purchases, having received a knife block set for our wedding, then when the chefs knife went dull, buying a Swedish store brand knife, which was better, then to a Swiss brand knife, which was even better, and finally making the jump (leap) to Zwilling. It is worth the extra expense as the knives are much better balanced and MUCH sharper. These are no doubt going to last most of my life, if not into the next generation.